Stranger
by metal248
Summary: There is more than it seems to an assassin that arrives in hyrule as trouble follows his presence. Now, Link will need help from the one he most fears... Dark Link. REWRITE DONE! WORKING ON NEW CHAPTER!
1. Attacked

-1Rewrite: Chapter 1: Attacked

blah blah blah, I dont own any of the zelda characters, but I do own Jace, my character. (I put him in all my stories)

This story takes place 10 years after Ocarina of Time (Link's 20 now).

It had been a 2 years since Link banished Ganon to the dark realm, Link had gained even more renown than ever and lived in the castle with Zelda.

Link sighed, it was deep into the night and he had gotten no sleep.

"A drink, I just need a drink." He groaned.

He put on his shoes, shield, sword and shirt, then left the castle, leaving a note on his door :

"Out to town, be back whenever"

Link had gone to a small bar located between two large buildings, it was one of the few buildings that still had it's lights shining, showing that business was open.

Ever since Ganon had been sealed away by the sages, Zelda had started to worry that he would somehow escape, she worked the soldiers at the castle tirelessly and put Link in charge of training and defense. Link needed the sleep tonight, the next day was sparring day, and as Zelda would have it, it would be Link vs. Everyone till nightfall.

"Hey, you seen that new guy coming to hyrule?" A guy in a red shirt sitting at a table near Link said, "I wonder where he's from? Mean lookin' guy"

"What are you talking about?" Replied the guy sitting across the red-shirted person, he was wearing a blue shirt, "He's one of those secretive freaks, wearing that mask thing all the time, kinda like that shiekah fella, you can't even see his face!'

"Well what I meant was that you could"-

Link had passed out on the bar.

A couple of minutes later, he was awoken by the bartender, a short guy, fat, and had a bald spot right on top of his head, he fit the exact picture of a stereotypical bartender.

"Link, don't be like those drunks that come in here all the time," the bartender's voice reminded Link of sandpaper against rock, rough and scratchy.

"Yeah, I'll leave."

"Wait, I didn't mean it like that Link, sir, I just meant at least don't fall- hey! Wait!"

Link walked outside into the night air and looked around at the quiet town, then he started to walk back to the castle. Being drunk, the only sound he was hearing, his footsteps, sounded loudly in his ears,

Step- Step- Step- Ste-Step Ste-Step-

Link stopped, the extra steps continued, he looked around and found nobody. When he started to continue walking, the extra steps still followed, provoking Link to run. After 40 feet, Link abruptly stopped, and so did the footsteps.

"Heh, well at least I know it's not that fat bartender, he couldn't keep up - Oh no... I didn't pay!"

Link turned around to head back to the bar when and loud 'thunk' hit the shield on his back. He spun around to find a broken arrow on the ground. Immediately sober, he drew his sword and held his shield by his side, ready to confront the attacker.

"An assassin...?"

Out of the corner of Link's eyes, he saw a dark silhouette jump over the buildings, but the next moment, it was gone. All of a sudden, a streak of silver swung above Link, using his instincts, Link raised his sword and had barely blocked an overhead attack. At this moment, he got a clear view of his assassin, a man, he was wearing a black mask over his face, revealing only his eyes which were also a dark black, like a void.

The attacker lept away again, however, when he tried to attack Link using the same method, Link dodged and when his attacker jumped, Link had grabbed the assassin's foot and slammed him hard onto the ground. The assassin was clad in all black clothing, he bore dark blue gauntlets that went up to the elbow, wore a sleeveless shirt, and his hair was black. He had a belt that carried small throwing knives in it. There were two sword holsters on his back, but he was only using one of the swords. He was also taller than Link and much broader, Link could tell that this person was combat-worn and experienced. Link quickly stabbed down at the assassin, but missed as the attacker rolled to the side and brought his sword up, cutting a deep, red gash across Link's chest.

"Who is this guy? Most people can't even dodge my attack, let alone wound me."

The assassin brought his sword down, nicking Link in the back, Link quickly spun around and retaliated by wounding his attacker with a light cut from the shoulder to the gauntlet. For a moment, the two drew back, but then charged at each other, their swords locking. To Link's surprise, his attacker was stronger than he had expected and he was having trouble holding his ground.

Link looked into the assassin's eyes, what he saw shocked him down to the core, he had never seen such determination to kill in a pair of eyes. Even worse, Link was losing, and just before he was about to buckle, the attacker's eyes looked down towards the street and saw a whole troop of castle knights coming their way, with the short bartender in the front slowly falling behind.

In a blur, the assassin had leapt away, leaving Link a bit dazed.

"Link, sir, are you alright?" Asked one of the guards when they got to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He replied, breathing heavily.

"We'll escort you back to the castle and get those wounds treated." The same knight shouted to others, "Hey! Full patrol on the city starting now!"

Link just stood a bit shocked, he gave thanks to the bartender for calling the knights and tried to pay him for the skipped bill, but the bartender refused saying how Link had already been through enough. Link thanked him again, then was escorted back to the castle. Morning had come, and Link just got back to Zelda's room, who was sitting in bed, clearly worried but oblivious to Link's presence until he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Oh Goddesses Link! This was just what I was afraid of! Is there ever going to be peace in this land?" Cried Zelda. Link just stood in the doorway and let Zelda hug him, "I'm so glad you're okay Link,"

"It's nothing Link, it's just because you were drunk, don't ever do that again!" Zelda cut off, looking up at him,

"Yeah, I guess so," Link didn't want to say it, but he knew that this stranger was better and could've killed Link if not for the guards, and he was certaintly not drunk.

Link was now forbidden to leave the castle, the attack on Link was immediately hushed so as to keep the soldiers' spirits high. That night, Link was in deep thought in his room,

"How could someone be so skilled with a sword? Better than the Hero of Time? This is no one ordinary person. I need help, but from who? Shiek? But I haven't seen him for years, I'm even starting to forget what he looks like, and besides him, who can be a worthy ally? Who can be equal or better than me?" He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a solid half-hour before realizing he was having more trouble sleeping.

Being prohibited from leaving the castle, he could only walk around inside, he decided to travel to the highest tower, where he could get a good view of the city below. On his way up, he passed by Zelda's room, who was also awake, and particularly distraught.

"Hey Zelda,"

"Oh, hey Link, I couldn't sleep,"

"Yeah, me neither,"

"You know Zelda, I've been thinking, this...person is quite skilled, I'll need help, do you know where shiek is?"

"No, he just about disappeared when that whole Majora's mask incident came up,"

"Well, who else should I call on for help? Who else is skilled enough with a sword to actually provide a chance with this guy?

"Uh-" Zelda cut herself off and looked toward the ground,

"What?"

"No, nothing."

"C'mon Zelda, I don't stand a chance by myself"

"...there's one person that can help..."

"Who, Zelda?"

Zelda closed her eyes, "...your double," whispered Zelda, almost inaudible,

"No way, that's impossible,"

"I know that there's no other way, but he's the only option we have."

Link stayed silent, anywhere this conversation would go, he would not like. He slowly nodded. "Ok, I'll do it, I'll leave tomorrow. I'll get some help from the zoras."

The next morning, Link was gone, leaving Zelda worried by herself in her room as she looked outside to the sunrise.

"Oh, Link..."

Yay, first chapter done! Probably a lot of spelin erors cuz I'm using wordpad and there's no spell check.


	2. Water Temple

-1It was the water temple, The home of his own identical apparition. Dark Link.

Link stepped into the foggy room, water slowing down his feet.

"Come on out!" Link yelled into the room.

Even though Link had killed Dark Link before, each time Link leaves the temple, all his hate and misery is channeled to this room, resurrecting Dark Link again, although considerably weaker.

A quiet 'clink' echoed throughout the room, Link averted his eyes to the dead, barren tree in the center of the room, he wished it would just die and rot away.

There sat Dark Link, looking quite downtrodden and miserable. Ever since Link locked Ganon away in the forbidden realm, no one had remembered anything about any of his lesser minions, which included Dark, he was essentially a living curse.

"What do you want?" Asked Dark Link in a monotonous voice.

It pained Link to see his greatest rival so helpless. He still remembered their first encounter and the fierce look of battle on Dark's face, the contrast between then and now made Dark seem pathetic.

Link stood there, looking at the ground before saying anything.

"I need your help."

Dark Link looked up at Link.

"What?"

"I need your help, Dark Link...Someone tried to kill me."

"Who hasn't?"

"This person, I can't defeat him, there's something about him, I'm hesitant to do this myself, and there's no other swordsman in Hyrule that is equal to me…except for my own double - you."

With this, Dark Link gave a crooked smile,

"Is the hero of time asking for help?"

"Will you?"

Dark's face became serious again, "Why?"

"Because if I die, you'll die too."

"WHO CARES!" Dark Link bellowed, "What have you done for me? We both know that you want my help just so this guy can get off your back, I hope I die! I've been here for your whole life Link, all that ocarina time travel and heroism crap and I'll be damned if I have to stay here until you grow into an old, drooling grandfather."

By now, Dark Link was on his feet, teeth ad fists clenched.

"I can get you out of this room." Responded Link.

Dark Link was caught off guard. He had wanted more than anything to get out of this room, but the actual possibility of it had never occurred to him, and now Link was making it seem so simple: just walk out. It was true, in the case of shadow apparitions, they are confined to a given region set by their conjurer, but if their double wills them to leave, then they could. Although Dark Link knew what the outside world was like due to the semi-sharing of memories between him and Link, he had never actually been in any contact with that world.

"And then what? Will you put me back in here after I help?"

"No...I'll..."

Link took a deep breath.

"I'll let you stay Hyrule, provided that you stay out of trouble."

Link had never asked Zelda of this, but it was the only way to get Dark Link to help.

"Really?" Asked Dark Link quietly, he hated being spoken to like he was a pet, but he knew that he would have to take it, this was his only way out.

"Yes," confirmed Link.

"You and I will have to undergo vigorous training at the castle before we can actually take this assassin on."

Dark Link nodded,

"Ok, just get me out of this room."

"Let's go, I'll carry your sword" suggested Link.

The temple door opened with a heavy clank, and the two stepped out.

Pretty short I know, but High school sucks a lot. Better than no update, right?


	3. Lure

-1Rewritten: Chapter 3: Lure

It had been a month and the training at the castle was difficult, but Dark Link had gladly accepted all his training, no matter how demanding they were. Whether he really wanted to help link or beat him was still unclear to Link, as he noticed Dark would give him a challenging glare every once in a while during their training.

The two rarely spoke, and they only met during training. Link had wanted to know his double, but he was to be kept away from Dark and even during training, they were never allowed to spar and were kept under watch.

"Link!" A villager had burst through the guards, "I have urgent news!"

Link was outside training the castle soldiers when the villager had come in. The soldiers had immediately gone into a defensive pose at the presence of the villager, but Link had waved a dismissive hand and they relaxed.

"What is it?" Link asked, he thought it had been a while since anything had happened.

"Murder! There's been a murder! And I think the murderer wants you there." The villager replied.

"The murderer wants me? How do you know this?" Link could already see where this was heading.

"Follow me," The villager told him.

With a slight sense of dread, Link, accompanied by two soldiers, followed the villager downtown where a large group was surrounding something.

As Link got to the group, he realized the object was not something, but someone, a young girl, no more than 17 years old. With Link there, the crowd backed away and the murmuring had stopped. Link nearly threw up.

It was the body of a young brunette, grotesquely mutilated, her dead eyes stared up at Link, a white film covering the pupils.

Link was used to this type of stuff, but the thing that got him was the drawing in blood next to the body, it was a triforce with one of the triangles filled in with blood, the triforce of courage.

"This was a lure to get me out of the castle!" Link realized, he looked up and immediately yelled, "Back into the castle!"

But it was too late, one of the soldiers accompanying him gave a grunt, and as Link looked over, he saw that the soldier's head had been taken clean off.

By now, the crowd had broken into frenzy and they were dispersing wherever they could. Through the crowd, Link caught a glimpse of the same person that had attempted to kill him a month ago.

The killer made his way through the crowd, cutting people down and stepping over their bodies, his eyes set on Link. "I have to get him away from these people, it's me that he wants!" Link planned.

He dodged through alleys and through buildings, trying to lose the assassin. Eventually, as he turned a corner, he looked behind him, seeing the figure hunch over and fall down as if something had struck him. Suddenly, the same figure got up and vanished in a quick blur.

Still gasping for breath, Link made his unsteady walk back to the castle, glancing ever so often over his shoulders.

Back at the castle Link headed directly to Zelda's room. He had thought about this killer and what to do. When Link walked back to the castle he had made up his mind, he knew what he would say. Link opened the door to Zelda's room.

"Zelda, I'm going to have to leave Hyrule."

Zelda turned towards link, she seemed to want to object, but she only managed to say, "That's sudden". It was clear that she and Link shared the same idea. Link's breathing slowed.

"Dark Link will come with me, we will take care of this problem once and for all, away from innocent people."

Zelda gulped, "Very well, we didn't bring Dark Link out here for nothing I suppose. Guards!"

Two guards came in, Zelda paused a bit before resuming.

"Bring Dark Link up here."

"Yes, ma'am," and with that, the two silver-clad soldiers marched down the stairs.

Link and Zelda looked into each others eyes, "Are you sure about this Link?"

"This is the only way, we both know that. If I stay here, more people will just die."

"Link…." Zelda trailed off

"Don't worry Zelda, I'll be alright. Remember that all my other escapades started out like this too, but here I am right?" Link spoke with a plastered on smile. He wasn't fooling Zelda nor himself, he saw the look in the killer's eyes, he was scared. Not to mention that he was clearly sweating buckets.

"Am I correct, the incident in town was a tragedy?" Zelda spoke quietly. Link's mouth opened to say something, but closed again, he gulped.

The sounds of the guard's boots ascending the stairs increased. Soon, they both appeared at the door with the dark doppelganger of Link between them.

"What do you two want?"

They both looked at him, Dark's face had changed from contempt to a more serious visage as he realized what was being planned. "So it's time?"

Link nodded, "We'll prepare our stuff tomorrow, then we set off at night, so get ready." Link then turned to Zelda, "I'll make it back in one piece, don't worry," and with that, Link looked back at Dark Link, as if expecting to get a remark of disapproval. Dark Link glared back at him and Link walked out of the room.

Once Link was out of the room, Zelda's face grew stern, and her teary eyes locked onto Dark Link's, "If you even think about hurting Link, I'll have every guard in Hyrule looking toward your death."

Dark Link turned his head away and walked out, before he walked through the door, he turned back and said, "Whatever you say, princess." And gave a slight smirk before leaving.


	4. Traveling

Rewritten: Chapter 4: On the road

Link stared at his packs, arranging them, rearranging them, he failed to notice Dark Link standing at the door; red eyes burning brighter than ever.

"A bit nervous there, hero?"

Link didn't look up, but replied, "Don't waste time, finish packing."

"I already have," responded Dark Link,

Link ignored this and continued moving his weapons around. A minute of silence passed before Link said, "What do you want?"

Dark Link smiled before answering, "Nothing, just waiting around."

With this, Link looked up, studied Dark's concealing disposition, and returned his focus back to packing, "What are you really here for Dark? You've been acting weird since you left the water temple, and don't think because were partners that I'll forget that you tried to kill me."

Dark Link remained smiling, his grin still stood out from his translucent black skin, "Far from that hero."

Link threw his pack at him, "Here, take this to the wagon, it's the ration for the first day."

The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, Dark Link stood outside the castle staring off into the distance, his red eyes seemed to reflect the sunset. Strangely enough, at the core of Dark's character, he truly hated being alone, whether it was due to it's connotation with his previous life in the water temple, or it's temptation to lead his mind to wander.

Dark was typically not one to be affected by musings of an idle mind, but recently, his thoughts would always lead to his past; or perhaps even more fitting, his absence of a past.

"Am I just a mere spell cast by Ganon? A string of words and a dash of powder? Was I doomed to just be the shadow of a greater being?" Even worse, these questions would just lead to even more bleak ponderings:

"What to do after this? I know that if this other person, whoever he is, didn't exist, I would still be rotting in that room. Why did I allow myself to be used like this? Ah yes, anything is better then that hellhole of a temple. Was what I just said true?"

"Sir, Link is all ready to go." A guard had come up behind Dark Link. Yet another reason he would hate pondering-lowered awareness. He turned around to look at the guard, Dark looked at him up and down. Dark could sense the fear practically oozing from the poor sentry.

"Thank you." With that quick reply, Dark walked briskly past him. Soon after, a drop of sweat fell from the guard's nose as he let out a big sigh and loosened his grip on his spear.

The horses began to take off. Normally, most would leave as the sun rose, but to avoid commotion, Zelda had decided it would be better if the town's most courageous warrior and his demonic double left in the cover of the dark. The next day, she would announce to the town that Link had gone off to deliver goods to Zora's domain. Hopefully spreading the news far enough for the assassin to hear, And so, with the sun slowly vanishing over the horizon, Link and Dark set out towards Hyrule Field.

The sky was now black, with a blanket of grey from overhead clouds. From the inside of the wagon, Dark Link could see Link directing the horses. Link sat next to a large torch, which acted as a lure for his pursuer. Even better, they would be the only vehicle traveling due to ominous clouds overhead, causing all other caravans to stop in nearby towns for shelter. Dark Link had to stay hidden, he couldn't let his presence scare off their target.

The torch light reflected slightly off an object in Link's hands. With a discreet shift, Dark positioned himself for a better look. It seemed that the hero of time truly was shaken by this assassin, Link was holding the Oni mask.

"How could such a battle-hardened being such as Link be scared of some lowly thug?" Dark thought to himself.

Dark stayed in the shadows, silent, with red eyes glowing. Link knew that Dark had seen what he was holding, he could see Dark's red eyes reflecting off the mask. Link gulped as he tried to assure himself that he would not be needing it. As if he was afraid of the mask's eyeless gaze, Link quickly thrust it back into his bag. He stopped the horses and told Dark Link that they would be resting a bit. They laid down their sleeping mats, pushed some rocks into a ring, and started a fire.

Under the moonless sky, the night veiled Dark and Link, their fire glowed like jewels against black velvet. The flames left dark shadows under their eyes, as the flames leaped higher, the more the two's features diminished, leaving behind ghastly caricatures of their faces. Their quiet uneventful journey across Hyrule continued like this for about a week, tension was always thick in the air.

On the eighth night, the assassin had come. The moon was just a sliver in the cloudy sky and rain was pouring from the heavens. Dark Link was in the wagon while Link was in a tent outside. Dark Link was the first to see their target. Gripping his sword, Dark briskly stated, "He's here," and pointed towards the shadowy silhouette standing on the horizon. Link came out of his tent and looked towards where Dark was pointing, sword in hand. It was a frightening sight indeed: the crescent moon stood ominously over the assassin's outline, giving the impression of a demon out of hell itself. Looking through the night, Link knew that this was the assassin that had tried to kill him, he also knew that the assassin was staring back at them through the night. After what seemed like an eternity, the silhouette seceded back into the shadows - he was coming towards them.

The sound of footsteps were a crescendo as they came through the grass. As the assassin's face broke through the ring of light from the fire, the horses neighed in fear and reared up their front legs. Link hadn't moved from the spot, but stared at the assassin in the eyes. He stared into the same wild, frenzied eyes that he had witnessed back in Hyrule more than a month ago; he swore he was looking into the depths of a demon. The thought caused Link to avert his eyes to the rest of the figure. He noticed that the assassin still wore a mask covering the bottom portion of his face and that he had two swords in scabbards resting on his back. The hilt of the swords unsettled Link even more, he saw what appeared to be a single eye encased at the joints of the blade and handle. Even worse, he swore that these disembodied eyes were staring straight at him; with as much ferocity as the warrior bearing them. Link gulped and the assassin drew one sword, slowly moving into a fighting stance. The two were about fifteen feet away.

It was then that Dark Link leaped out of the wagon, sword already drawn and landing in an offensive position. The assassin did no more than shift his eyes to this doppelganger, then look back at Link. It was a standoff, the trio stood in the middle of Hyrule field with the crescent moon casting a light blue hue over the ground. The fire at the center of where they stood made them nothing more than a star in the night.

HOLY CRAP FINALLY FINISHED THIS CHAPTER! You guys have NO idea how busy school has made me, but it's spring break so party time J.


	5. Confrontation

-1The three leapt towards each other, two against one. The sound of metal against metal cut through the night. Only glimpses of the battle could be seen in the darkness and it was only when the fire light reflected off the trio's blades. Though at a disadvantage, the assassin wielded only one of his two blades. This almost egotistical gesture frustrated and surprised Link and Dark, questions raced through their mind as they battled. They both focused on one question - who was this guy? How could some unheard of lowly killer-for-hire manage to one-up the two best swordsmen in all of Hyrule, and even more, both at the same time! Fortunately, the hero of light and his polar double were never ones to be intimidated, their morale remained unchanged and they seemed to have even been provoked by such challenge.

The battle between them raged fiercely. As Link and Dark both dealt blows, the assassin was able to successfully defend himself while countering with strikes of his own. The intensity of attacks and strikes grew visibly as sparks began to be emitted from many of the blows.

The three displayed a myriad of technique - spinning lariats from Link and his double, leaps from the assassin, and an insurmountable amount of counters and attacks. The assassin slid under their blades, attempting a counter by swiping at both of their feet, but only to cut through air as Link and Dark jumped away from the attack.

The three reached a quick stand-off in battle, Dark's teeth are gritted, Link's white-knuckle grip on the hilt of his sword tightened even more. Out of the corner of his eye, Link notices Dark Link looking back and forth between the assassin and the caravan which they rode on.

"Focus!" Link quickly yells to Dark, but before Dark could, the assassin advanced upon him in an almost instantaneous leap, sword outstretched. Caught off guard, the blade connected with Dark's torso, quickly leaving a gaping gash across his chest. The assassin raised his sword for another blow but Link quickly jumped in and pushed Dark out of the way, sparing him from a lethal strike.

On his way up, Dark swings his sword towards the assassin's legs, but only to have his blow blocked when the assassin kicks the sword's hilt, knocking the blade off its course. Before setting his foot back down, the assassin delivers another kick to Link's stomach, sending him reeling backwards. Horrified, Link sees the assassin bring his sword down across Dark's legs, letting a streak of red flow across the ground followed by a yelp from Dark.

Dark quickly rolls backwards, flipping himself through the air, however, when he lands, he takes an unstable step back. Link sees this and yells to him, "Are you okay?!", his eyes never leaving the assassin, knowing that he would take any open opportunity to attack.

Dark grinds his teeth and lets out a small growl, "I'm fine!" he responds fiercely, regaining his posture. During this quick exchange, the assassin directs his focus back over towards Link. Again Link's eyes meet with his and this time Link is visibly shaken. Seemingly rooted to his spot, Link feels dread as he reads the expression in the assassin's eyes. The same hatred pooled in his eyes with the same if not more intensity as their first meeting. Dark quickly interrupts Link's horror with a piercing whistle. Link looks towards dark who swiftly tosses him something.

"Let's finish this now link!"

Link looks at the object in his hand, almost with the same expression that was shared between him and the assassin only a short moment ago.

"This is crazy." Link says before he looks up at Dark, but when he does raise his head, he sees Dark already engaged in battle, slowly losing.

Link looks back at the ivory white object in his hand and takes in a big breath before raising the Oni mask to his face.

Dark Link was quickly being pushed back by the assassin's flurry of attacks, before he realized it, his limbs were already garnished with an ensemble of gashes and cuts. He felt the disorientation from the blood loss, but Dark knew that he must focus long enough for Link to put on the mask. Things began to slow down, he could tell that his strikes were beginning to be careless, and just before the assassin brought the blade down upon his skin again, his senses were flooded by almost an incredible surge of energy and an aura of darkness consumed his body.

The same type of transformation was occurring with Link, but with a blinding white glow. The surge of power from both Link and Dark threw the assassin off balance, causing him to take a retreating step back as he saw the black and white auras diminish to reveal two colossal, armor-clad warriors standing in the receding glow.

Link looked over to Dark, who returned the favor, and both understood what had happened. Because Dark was Link's double, they are still very much tied together physically, explaining Link's natural strength - he had the muscle growth rate of not one, but two men. Because Link had become and Oni warrior, Dark's physical ties with Link had to match, and he underwent the same change. Dark looked down over his new attire with admiration and fascination.

Dark Link had returned to a flawless condition again, free of any wounds and now donning black armor over his body. His red eyes burned brighter than ever, giving off a red haze. Also, his opaque body composition gave off a similar black smoke, against the night sky, it truly was impossible to tell where his body ended and the night began.

Link had gone through an equally majestic transformation, his armor consisted of shades of blue and silver, his hair was a glowing white along with his eyes. Tribal markings adorned his face, chest plate, and limbs.

On top of all this, both the warriors' swords now were a twisted mass of sharpened metal, a gargantuan sword that formed a very slim figure eight, Dark's blade was black while Link's was a gleaming silver.

The assassin locked eyes with Dark, then Link, and noticed that their eyes returned the equal ferocity of his own. He regained composure and promptly pulled out the second sword from the hilt.

Both Link and Dark leapt forward, Dark striking with a side blow and Link with an overhead strike. Both expected to obliterate the assassin, but in the next instant, there he stood, holding his own, sword against sword. He had not even taken a step back and his eyes emanated the same dark glare.

The pause from this standoff quickly broke as the assassin pushed Link's and Dark's blades away and retaliated with rapid attacks from both of his own swords, spinning the hilt around his hands and performing lethal lariats in quick succession. The two Oni's however, with their heightened power and senses, defended themselves with the same ease that the assassin had previously exhibited against their normal selves. Counter against counter against counter, the battle went on into the night and all three warriors knew that they were at a stalemate.

The three simultaneously separated.

Dark now noticed that in spite of the many impossible feats of strength the assassin exhibited, he had begun to show fatigue. The firelight reflected off of the sweat on the assassin's forehead.

"He's tiring Link," Dark stated, the voice from his Oni form resounding with a deep solid power.

A smile of confidence spread on both of their faces as they realized that this assassin may not be invincible after all. The three leapt towards each other again and engaged in the same exchange of blows and counters. However, in battle it seemed that the assassin was actually gaining vigor and energy as his strikes began to connect.

With a powerful blow, Link was able to knock the assassin far back enough for the three to break up again. Changing from the pace of the battle in an almost spontaneous action, Dark did not leap back as Link did but instead hurled his sword through the air towards the assassin, catching him off guard and fully connecting with his right arm.

The tip of the sword stuck into the assassin's right shoulder, and the corresponding arm dropped. Dark took full advantage of this vulnerability, one hand grabbing the assassin's right sword and the other landing squarely on the assassin's jaw.

Unfortunately, the assassin successfully returned the damage by slicing across Dark's body with his other sword. Both of them feel down. Link took in what had happened, although he had gotten severely wounded in the process, Dark had managed to take away one of the assassin's swords.

"Ahh that cut deep…" Dark hissed through closed teeth. Link ran up next to him and noticed that the gash was indeed severe, at one point along the wound a part of a rib was even exposed.

"Don't worry about me Link, finish that monster off!" Dark quickly yelled.

Link quickly ran towards where the assassin was, but saw that he was already standing, sword down by his side - ready for an all-out attack.

The two ran towards each other, identical in stance - sword dragging behind them on opposite sides of each other. The assassin wielded his sword with his good arm, the left. Link also wielded the sword on his left.

Then the two confronted and delivered their strikes. For one moment, the silhouettes from their swords formed an X under the moon, then:

A shatter.

In the next moment, both combatants were face to face, both had their swords buried in the other up to the hilt.

Dark Link stood agape at the sight. The assassin's mask had fallen off. It was consumed by the night before it hit the ground. What the mask had concealed was striking. Both Link and Dark Link flinched as they saw what was underneath. The flesh that was underneath the mask appeared to be burnt away down to the bone. All that was left was muscle and a twisted, permanent smile formed by his bony jaw.

For what seemed like an eternity, the two stood like statues. When they did move, the assassin did so first. He slowly pulled his sword out, causing Link to grimace in pain. However, a smile snaked its way upon Link's face as the assassin looked at his own sword in horror- it was broken at the hilt. It had gone in no more than an inch.

For a moment, the assassin stood wide eyed then dropped what was left of his sword to the ground. It landed with a dull thump. Dark Link saw now, Link's sword was protruding out from the assassin's back, dripping blood onto the grass.

Movement returned to Link as he smoothly pulled out his sword with a squelch. The assassin let out a small gasp and coughed up blood. He tried to take a step back but instead stumbled and fell. Link and Dark stood in the field as they watched the dying figure take shallow breaths.

Promptly, Link walked over to the figure and raised his sword to finish the assassin off. Just before he was about to bring down the blade, Dark Link reached out and stopped him,

"Hold on, I hate to say it but we need this man alive." Link looked at him, then without saying a word he turned and walked away, taking off the Oni mask and tossing it towards the caravan as he let out an exasperated sigh. He also knew deep down that he shouldn't kill this assassin until they found out why this pawn was here. No, this was no mere pawn, this was something else, but what? It churned his insides the more he thought about it. Secretly he had been hoping that the last blow would finish off the assassin, but each breath the assassin gave expelled an air of defiance. This whole thing caused a sense of dread crawl over him.

"Try and carry him into the caravan, there's some bandages in the back. We're heading home."


End file.
